Yasin Valley is a high-altitude mountain valley nestled in the Hindu Kush mountain range, located in the northern region of the Gupis-Yasin District within Gilgit-Baltistan . The valley is situated approximately 148 kilometers (92 miles) from the city of Gilgit, which serves as the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan. Within the valley's territory lies Yasin Tehsil , an administrative subdivision of the region.
20-733: Despite its sparse population, Yasin Valley has held strategic importance historically. This is due to the fact that it leads to a high mountain pass leading to the Yarkhun Valley and subsequently to the Broghil Pass in Chitral . These passes facilitate connectivity with the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan and further to Tajikistan . Yasin Valley served as the administrative center of Worshigum, which
40-469: Is a sports festival held annually from 7 to 9 July in the Shandur Polo Ground. The polo tournament is played between the teams of Gilgit-Baltistan Districts and Chitral District, under freestyle rules. The tournament is held at Shandur Top which is the world highest polo ground at an altitude of 3,700 meters (the pass itself is at 3,800 meters). Traditional Chitrali clothing includes
60-541: Is an administrative district in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , Pakistan. Kho people are the dominant ethnic group in the district, forming 99.84% of the total population. Chitral River flows across the length of the district. Upper Chitral District along with Lower Chitral District were part of the erstwhile Chitral District which was the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, covering an area of 14,850 km . Previously, it formed part of
80-960: Is an historical pass which has been labelled as a restricted zone by the government of Pakistan. This pass used to be the shortest means of communication between the Oxus and Indus . Most tourism is along the Assumbur Pass to the Ishkoman Valley . one pass is from Darkot yasin to Thoi. Attar pass height 4,700 metres (15,400 ft) Connects Darkut with Ishkoman Valley and Attar Lake. Three passes from Nazbar yasin connect to Mastuj Chitral, height 5,009 metres (16,434 ft), one pass from Bujayote Nala to Bawoshter Ghizat Shamaran, one other pass from Khaimet bar to Chitral (sources Aina e Dardistan By Hidayat ullah Akhter, edited by Javed sajid Sultanabad Yasin). Yarkhun Upper Chitral District ( Khowar : توری ݯھیترارو ضلع ; Urdu : ضلع چترال بالا )
100-494: Is part of Ghizer District . It is further divided into four local councils: Yasin, Sultanabad, Silgan and Thoi. The Darkut Pass connects Yasin with Wakhan and Chitral , height 4,267 metres (13,999 ft), Buroghul pass connect Yasin with Brughol, height 3,798 metres (12,461 ft) while the Thoi Pass connects Yasin to Yarkhun Chitral, height 4,690 metres (15,390 ft). Assumber pass connects Yasin to Ishkoman . Darkot Pass
120-769: Is represented by one elected MPA in the provincial assembly who represent the following constituencies:PK-1 Kho people The Kho ( / k oʊ / , Khowar : کھو ), or Chitrali people , are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the Chitral District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , Pakistan and the Gupis-Yasin and Ghizer districts of Gilgit-Baltistan . They speak an Indo-Aryan language called Khowar . The Kho people are likely descendants of those who migrated to their present location in Chitral from
140-668: Is separated from the Ishkoman Valley by a high mountain pass. To reach Yasin one must take the Karakoram Highway north from Islamabad , and then turn left to reach Gupis in Ghizar . After Gupis, one continues northwest to reach the Yasin Valley. The part of the valley where Khowar is spoken is known in the Shina language as Arinah . Administratively, Yasin constitutes Yasin Tehsil , which
160-496: The 2023 census , Upper Chitral district has 26,365 households and a population of 195,528. The district has a sex ratio of 105.75 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 73.83%: 84.87% for males and 62.11% for females. 44,351 (22.73% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. The entire population lives in rural areas. In the 2023 census, 782 (0.40% of the surveyed population) people were from religious minorities, half Christians and half 'Other' religions. 99.84% of
180-614: The Chitral princely state that encompassed the region until its incorporation into the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan in 14 August 1947. The erstwhile Chitral District was bifurcated into Upper Chitral and Lower Chitral Districts in November, 2018. The town of Buni is the headquarters of the Chitral Upper District. It shares a border with Gilgit-Baltistan to the east, with Badakshan province of Afghanistan to
200-615: The Shalwar Kameez and the Pakol (Chitrali hat). According to Aziz et al. 2019, the western Eurasian mtDNA haplogroups were observed predominantly and mostly shared in Kho samples with overall frequency of 50%. These include HV8, H19, H57, H24, C and, C4a haplogroups. The South Asian haplogroups and its relevant subgroups including U4, U4c, U6, U5a, and W were also found in Kho samples with overall 37.5% frequency. Another South Asian haplogroup, M30
220-578: The Yasin and Ghizer valleys under the Khushwaqt dynasty in the 17th century. In ancient times the Kho people practised a faith akin to that observed by the Kalash today. In the 14th century, many of the Kho converted to Islam though some previous customs continue to persist. With respect to Islam, the Kho are primarily Hanafi Sunni Muslims although there exists a substantial population of Ismaili Muslims in
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#1732855767287240-613: The Ismailis. However, other branches of both as Sunni and Shia Islam also live in Yasin. Ethnically, the people of Yasin are of Burusho origin; however, there are some migrants from different parts of the country. Havaldar Lalak Jan Shaheed who was given the Pakistan Military's highest award Nishan-e-Haider for his bravery in Kargil War in 1999, belonged to Hundur in Yasin valley. Yasin
260-509: The Khowar language, that: "Khowar, in many respects [is] the most archaic of all modern Indian languages, retaining a great part of Sanskrit case inflexion, and retaining many words in a nearly Sanskritic form.” Khowar is spoken by around 800,000 people in Pakistan. Most of the Kho people also use Urdu as a second language. Chitrali folklore lays great emphasis upon supernatural beings, and
280-584: The Upper Chitral region. The Khowar language shares a great number of morphological characteristics with neighbouring Iranian languages of Badakhshan , pointing to a very early location of proto-Khowar in its original abode in Upper Chitral, although from its links with the Gandhari language , it likely came from further south in the first millennium BC, possibly through Swat and Dir. The ethnologists Karl Jettmar and Lennart Edelberg noted, with respect to
300-496: The area is sometimes called "Peristan" because of the common belief in fairies ( peri ) inhabiting the high mountains. The Barmanou is a popular local legend, often referred as the indigenous equivalent of the Yeti of the Himalayas. Polo is a popular sport and pastime for the Kho people. Polo traditionally played by the Kho has little rules or organisation. The Shandur Polo Festival
320-662: The north and with the Upper Dir District to the southwest and with Swat District to the southeast. A narrow strip of Wakhan Corridor separates Chitral from Tajikistan in the north. Chitral has a warm steppe climate influenced by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Summers are pleasantly warm without ever getting too hot. Winters are extremely cold; longer periods with subzero temperatures are not uncommon. Precipitation figures here are higher than in other regions in Pakistan . As of
340-610: The population spoke languages recorded as 'Other' on the census. The main language is Khowar , sometimes called Chitrali, spoken by the Dardi Kho . Wakhi is spoken in the northern regions along the Afghan border. The district along with Lower Chitral District is represented by one elected MNA (Member of National Assembly) in Pakistan National Assembly . Its constituency is NA-1 . The district along with Lower Chitral District
360-451: The princely state of Jammu and Kashmir . The primary languages of Yasin Valley are Burushaski language and Khowar Language . English Wakhi and Shina is also widely understood. The majority of the people in Yasin are Ismailis , who lead their lives according to the Islamic principles more concerned with the imam of the time. Currently Aga Khan IV is the imam and spiritual leader of
380-514: The south. The Kho people spread throughout Chitral from the northern part of the region, specifically from the Mulkhow and Torkhow Valley . According to Morgenstierne , the original abode of the Kho was northern Chitral in the valleys around Mastuj . The Kho started expanding into southern Chitral around the early 14th century under the Rais Mehtars . Later on, the Kho expanded eastwards into
400-664: Was under the suzerainty of the Mehtars rulers who emerged from Chitral. The Mehtars of Yasin were great warriors and fought against the Sikhs and the Dogras of Kashmir in Gilgit Agency. But more often, they fought with each other, intrigued and murdered each other. In 1895, the British took control of the territory under the Gilgit Agency. By this point, Yasin had become firmly recognized as part of
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